INDUCTION: Wrestling Challenge, Episode 1 – It Sucks…Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt

I thought I could do nothing but WCW inductions leading up to the release of the new “Death of WCW”, but after doing one more week of what I believe to be final tweaking on the book, I could do no more. Even I reach my limits some times. I’ve already started the next WCW induction, so we do have more coming, but yeah, I decided to switch things up a bit this week.

And to do so, I went back to the year I began really watching wrestling: 1986. Ah, 1986. Now that was a banner year in wrestling. Orndorff turning on Hogan. Bulldogs winning the tag belts. Horsemen running wild.

But not everything was golden: there was the launch of a little show you may have heard of, a weekly syndicated WWF show: Wrestling Challenge.

Now many of you old schoolers are no doubt throwing your hands in the air, asking how on earth I could induct a program hosted by arguably the greatest commentary duo ever, Gorilla Monsoon and my hero, Bobby Heenan. But there’s the catch. The very first episode had Gorilla, but it sure didn’t feature “The Brain.” No, your commentators for this show would be…

C’mon, Johnny – where is your matching powder blue WWF suit?

Sadly, the commentary is just the beginning of the horrendosity on display here, so let’s just induct this sucker, shall we?

The show starts with the classic Wrestling Challenge theme I remember. Why I remember it I am not quite sure. Is it horrible? Is it good? Did they pull some sax player off the streets in Greenwich who had an empty case with a couple of dollars and some loose change in it to play the theme?

I don’t know the answer to any of these questions.

This may be a long induction.

Before we get to the ring for today’s action, we get a series of still shots highlighting who is on the progrem. That’s fine. Heck, I think they should bring that back for Raw. What is not fine (and something I have absolutely zero recollection of) is that they appeared to use a pre-alpha version of Photoshop on these shots then went filter crazy on them. For instance, the British Bulldogs are here, in front of a wacky purple rainbow…yet completely devoid of any skin tone whatsoever.

Meanwhile, King Harley Race looks to have been attacked while taking a tour through the Captain Crunch Crunch Berry garden.

And here’s Adrian Adonis, sadly having had his make up gun set to whore.

That or perhaps he was a pre-Matt Borne version of Doink the Clown.

I also learned that I had the name of Jake Roberts’ talk show segment wrong all these years. Always thought it was “The Snake Pit”. This image, though, learned me otherwise.

Had to have been called “The Snake Pot”. You’d have hoped someone in the company would have deduced that Jake may have had issues with “personal demons” just looking at that snapshot there.

HOLY CRAP.

We are also getting the FEDERETTES! I remember nearly nothing about them, other than that they were women with more neon than was legally permitted in 42 states.

Yes! Lord Alfred Hayes is our ring announcer today, and he starts off in grand style by butchering the word “scheduled”, somehow making it “shhhheduled.” Not sure if that’s an English thing or if he’s tanked. Maybe both. Regardless, we are introduced to the tag team combination of “Iron” Mike Sharpe and his partner, The Magnificent Muraco. Much like you, I remember them teaming all the never. They are taking on The Guy Who Birthed Bray Wyatt in Real Life (Mike Rotundo) and The Guy Who Bray Wyatt Copied Like a Xerox Machine (Danny Spivey), the US Express.

Or as Alfred calls them, “The USA Express.” Wasn’t that the name of the cartoon block on the USA Network back in the day?

Why I believe it was!

So the two teams square off with Rotundo and Spivey taking control early with arm wringers a plenty. In addition, we get an inset promo from “Superstar” Billy Graham promising to bring us all “boogaloo.” As he also mentions, and I am quoting here, “the WWF wrestling circuit”, I will presume it to be electric boogaloo. The excitement continues as we get the worst dropkick ever done by someone not named “Erik Watts”.

Props to “Iron” Mike taking such a huge bump…especially with that eternally bad forearm he had.

As this is going on, Ernie tells us that this youth movement can’t be beat…”beyond a shadow of a doubt.” I’d tell you to remember that, but that’s kinda Cat’s ‘go to’ phrase as I recall. You’ll hear it plenty, believe me.

In fact, I will keep a Big Cat Shadow of a Doubt Counter on throughout this episode.

The match ends when Rotundo small packages Sharpe…which is reversed behind the ref’s back by Muraco. As Spivey comes in to protest, the ref escorts Muraco out of the ring, turning his back to Spivey…who then reverses the small package again so that Rotundo can get the win. I so miss stupid little stuff like that in tag team wrestling these days.

What I don’t miss is being told that the worm has turned…”beyond a shadow of a doubt!”

Next up we get a segment called “Wrestler’s Rebuttal.” I have zero recollection of this segment ever on Challenge or anywhere else.Honestly, though, I don’t care as this one features one of my favorite wrestlers ever, “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Should also note that this is during what I consider to be Savage’s greatest era ever, his initial WWF heel run. Holy guacamole that was great.

He actually does have a rebuttal of sorts, directed to the fans, who he explains have been “super applauding” Elizabeth. He notes this is a poor action, and that they should be “super applauding” the Macho Man. This is the first I have ever heard of this term, so I have no idea how to “super applaud.” Rest assured, though, if Randy Savage were still alive, I would learn how to do so and then follow him around during his every day life “super applauding”. Hitting Qdoba for lunch, Randy? I’m there, Mach. I am there.

As we head back to the arena, Lord Alfred is introducing us to Adrian Adonis, along with his manager Jimmy Hart and bodyguard “Cowboy Ace” Bob Orton. His opponent today, from Lenexa, Kansas, Tommy Sharp!

Yep, that was his response. He also noted that he was working on new Jobbers of the Week…wonder what will hit first, a new JOTW or a new RD & Blade Show. Hmmm.

To the match, as we get immediate and LOUD f*gg*t chants. I have this show from 24/7, so I can’t believe they didn’t censor those. As Gorilla chastises Adonis for chewing gum in the ring (“that’s one of the most dangerous things you can do in the world of professional wrestling!!!!”), I am slack jawed by Mr. Sharp’s stylish color combo: yellow, red, and BROWN!

That is a LOOK.

The trio turns to talking about how Orton is now wearing a pink cowboy hat. Gorilla: “Money does strange things to people, does it not, Ernie?”

I should note the referee in this match is Danny Davis, who would go onto fame as an awesome heel ref, the guy who more or less handed the tag team belts to The Hart Foundation. He’s in the early stages of heeldom here, being easily distracted by The Mouth of The South, allowing Orton to sneak into the ring so he and Adonis can do a modified Doomsday Device to get Adrian the win.

But hey, take heart, Tom. Not only did it take two men to beat you (“a miscarriage of justice!!!”), Gorilla dubbed you “young Tom Sharp”.

This despite the fact you looked at least 47 years old at the time.

Koko B. Ware is up next, trading fisticuffs with Bob Bradley. I was going to talk about Koko’s inset promo (complete with the world’s smallest boom box!), but then I noticed a FEMALE referee! Sadly, before I can do that, Gorilla notes that the WWF presents the best in wrestling today. And you know the reaction that gets.

Yup.

So yeah, back to the girl ref, Rita Marie. The story goes that she claimed Vince McMahon forced himself on her. No idea if that’s true or not. In fact, I wouldn’t even bring it up, save for the fact that WWE’s side of the story is that she conspired with no less than Dr. D, David Schultz to smear Vince’s kinda/sorta good name. What I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on the wall for the planning sessions between this woman and the erstwhile Doctor. Bet it would have gone something like this.

You know me – looking for any reason to shill the archives. Just $14.95!!

In the ring, Bradley heads up top!

Yeah, no idea what that was. Looks painful though. Just not to his opponent. “That pain will hurt you in a very unusual place,” notes Ladd. I’ll say. Anyway, this leads to Koko winning with a big splash.

…yessirree, Troy “I Ain’t Shane Douglas Yet!” Martin! Will he be able to Franchise “Mr. Wonderful”? Of note: this was during the very great era in which Orndorff was using (“stealing!!” corrects Monsoon) Hogan’s “Real American” theme. Never understood why everyone was so appalled by that; the music was originally for Rotundo and Barry Windham anyway.

Having said that, it was a killer way to generate heel heat. Right, Cat?

The best part is that one of the Federettes is at ringside. Is she upset with Orndorff for using the Hulkster’s music?

Um, no. You keep right on clapping offbeat, girl! Paul deserves it!

Discussion of Orndorff’s “mean streak” follows, which is then followed by, yes, you guessed it…

The action soon spills outside the ring, with Mr. Wonderful tossing Douglas over the barricade. In the meantime, we get an inset from The Honky Tonk Man, in full BABYFACE mode. Yes, when HTM first came to the WWF, he was a good guy, with Vince of the belief that he was going to be the number two baby face in the company.

No, seriously. That is what Vince McMahon thought.

So he talks about how Orndorff betrayed a man that was his friend, Hulk Hogan. Again, number two baby face, was going to be pals with Hogan. Don’t ask me.

The Snake Pit is up next, with special guests Grand Wizard, Kimchee, and Kamala. Wiz bellows on and on about jungles, putting his ear to the ground, fifteen reincarnations, pygmies, cousins of Damien, blonde bengal tigers, and being in VIP lounges. Won’t lie, I kinda nodded off during it. Please be forewarned if you start listening to this clip, it may be Thanksgiving before it’s over.

A recap of Harley Race’s coronation is next, this time voiced over by Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura. Probably a good thing; God only knows how many “shadows of a doubts” we’d have gotten had Cat been involved. A nice touch here: not only were all of Heenan’s men out there (including Studd and Bundy carrying Race around on their shoulders!), but all of the Slickster’s and Jimmy Hart’s guys were there as well. You know it’s a true sign of heel unity when the Moondogs show up bowing their heads in respect.

Speaking of, they are in our “main event”, as Rex and Spot take on The British Bulldogs. You know what wrestling needs more of these days?

Non-speaking, creepy looking hill jacks wearing rope belts and carrying around giant bones. Put that on Raw, and you’ll be back to 6.5 ratings every Monday night guaranteed.

Bulldogs win, of course.

Finally, mercifully, we get to the end of the show as we are given a preview of next week. On that show, we’ll be getting…

Yeah, you know...the WrestleCrap guy. Been here since before day 1, I have. You can hang out with me on Facebook. (I'm on there quite a bit) or follow my exploits on Twitter (I'm on there not quite so often).
Thanks, and Keep on Crappin'!

P.S. I think there’s one error, RD. That telltale bellowing during The Snake Pit show was that of The “Master” of the Dungeon of Doom from the 90s, a.k.a. King Curtis Iaukea, not the Grand Wizard manager (who died in ’83) as you wrote.

Also, I re-listened to the clip, and Master/King Curtis claims to have been in contact with the Grand Wizard’s ghost! “The Grand Wizard told me on his way to his 15th reincarnation to go to Uganda” and find Kamala!

The commentary team of Gorilla, Ladd, and Johnny V also were the announce team for “The Big Event”, which was shown in its entirety on 24/7 but airs as the Coliseum Video version on the WWE Network. IIRC, this commentary team only lasted for a few weeks until “The Brain” took his rightful seat beside Gorilla as color commentator. I attended an August 1988 “Wrestling Challenge” TV taping, which of course was leading to the inaugural Summerslam, taped at Hara Arena in Dayton, OH. One last note: Superstars of Wrestling had Update with Gene Okerlund and Wrestling Challenge had Wrestler’s Rebuttal in nearly the same place in each program, usually after the first match. Trivia: Wrestling Challenge replaced All-Star Wrestling, and Superstars replaced Championship Wrestling, which is the very program where Paul Orndorff turned on Hulk Hogan.

Awesome. This was about a year before I got into wrestling big-time. I wish I was watching at this point more closely. That Wrestling Challenge theme song…fantastic. The sax! I thought it would build to something. It just kind of winds down. The golden era of wrestling by a country mile.

Actually, Bradley WAS Battle Kat at some point. I remember recognizing his style, and then realizing that Battle Kat was wearing Bradley’s distinctive boots. I’ve always been surprised that Boone’s the only guy mentioned under the cat mask.

I was a bit of a mark for Bradley, he was one of my favorite jobbers, as he was good enough in the ring to make the new lower card guys look like they were working hard to win.

Oh, I remember when Honky Tonk Man first came in as a huge babyface and was pretty much shoved down the fans’ throats at every opportunity. The fans crapped on him so much that Vince HAD to turn him heel. And, much like it did for the Rock, it worked brilliantly. (Although I was IRATE when Honky beat my favorite wrestler at the time, Ricky Steamboat, for the IC title when Steamboat had barely held it for a little over two months.)

That infuriated me too when Honky won the title from Steamboat. What also infuriates me is that until The Mountie’s 2-day reign in 1992 Steamboat was the shortest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. Even the washed-up, coked-out, suicidal, footless Texas Tornado held the belt longer than he did. All because the guy wanted a little time with his brand new son.

Back when Richie Steamboat was still in the farm leagues I always imagined him being called up to the main roster, feuding with CM Punk, and Punk saying something in a promo like, “Oh, and did your dad ever tell you that you’re the reason he was only Intercontinental Champion for 2 months?”

I remember most of this – particularly Johnny V. being the first heel commentator on “Challenge” and the Bulldogs-Moondogs main event, as well as the debut of the Snake Pit. What I DIDN’T remember was Ernie Ladd being there. I guess I had blocked that out of my mind. Yeah, that must be the explanation. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Back to HTM. It was actually Wayne Farris, being persuaded by Jerry the King Lawler, himself who convinced Vince McMahon to turn him heel and have him managed by Jimmy Hart as they had great chemistry together back in Memphis. Lawler’s argument was that wrestling fans would not support an Elvis Impersonator in wrestling because they would see through him. So the plan was for Honky to become a cocky Elvis Impersonator who downplayed the boos he heard on a nightly basis into cheers by saying things such as “Thank you so much. You’re a beautiful audience.” As soon as he took on Jimmy Hart as a manager, he had instant heat. Kudos to HTM though for actually making what could have been a failed gimmick work very well.

Caught this on Youtube as well. Did the Network leave in all of Okerlund breaking in and announcing upcoming live shows? Or was that just for the local audience watching on WOR (the version uploaded to Youtube)?

A related video on the Youtube link was for the debut of Superstars–the show’s opening theme was used in the NES Wrestlemania game, which I think warrants an induction. Plus Shane Douglas jobbing to Randy Savage…I super applauded that watching it this morning.

I have every reason to believe Adrian Adonis was using Homer Simpson’s $14.95 makeup gun and set it to whore mode. Beyond a shadow of a doubt!

Makes me want to see if I can find this show and start my own drinking game for Wrestling Challenge.

Ernie Ladd says “beyond a shadow of a doubt” – take a shot
Gorilla Monsoon calls someone young – take a shot
Gorilla Monsoon says “miscarriage of justice” or tells Bobby Heenan “WILL YOU STOP?” – take a shot
Someone says “let me tell you something” in a promo – take a shot
See a future main WWF/E, WCW, or ECW main eventer as a jobber – take two shots
See a future gimmick midcarder as a straight-up midcard babyface under his real name – take two shots (guess that’s four shots for the US Express then?)
Politically-incorrect Adrian Adonis jeers or anything else politically-incorrect that somehow flew in the ’80s – chug a beer